The Polar Express
by An Preson Peepul
Summary: I rewrote the Polar Express and made it into a Team Fortress 2 fanfic because I saw that one animation with the Polar Express in TF2
1. A Faded Memory

I know this chapter's flippin' short, but believe me when I say I tried making it a bit longer. Also, I promise it'll get better (at least, I hope it'll get better) so please stick around.

I own nothing except maybe a character or so.

* * *

 _"We got 'em."_

 _"Excellent." Grey Mann smiled, pressing his fingers together. Everything was going according to plan. Now, all he needed to do was-_

 _"Daddy?"_

 _The old man turned around to see his daughter standing in the doorway._

 _"Mr. Virgil says I have to leave," Olivia said. "Why do I have to go?"_

 _"Do you remember Mr. Hale?" Grey Mann asked._

 _Olivia nodded._

 _"Then do you remember the men he hired to destroy my robots?"_

 _Olivia nodded again._

 _"Well," Grey Mann said, "they are going to bring them back here."_

 _Olivia frowned. "Why?"_

 _"Because they know where the old woman is hiding," the old man replied. "Anyway, it's going to get a little messy, so I don't want you here while her mercenaries are around. It'll only take an hour, so you'll be back before you know it."_

 _"Okay," Olivia said, a smile forming on her lips._

 _"Now, you follow Virgil. I need to stay here and wait for the rest of his team."_

 _Olivia nodded, then took off, skipping down the hall, oblivious to the solemn atmosphere around her._

 _As his daughter's footsteps faded away, Grey Mann turned back to the window, eyes scanning the clouds of the approaching storm that smothered the sky._

* * *

 _Olivia was beginning to get worried. She paced around her room, thoughts swirling through her head. Something had happened to her father; she just knew it. Grey had told her that he would be done in an hour, and, according to the round white clock on the wall, an hour had already passed. She had gotten bored of her toys, and she was now left to wonder what was taking her father so long._

 _Turning to face the window, she gazed at the towering skyscraper off in the distance, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong. The other mercenaries shouldn't have been that much of a problem, right?_

 _Then: an explosion. Bright orange flames reached to the sky, engulfing the skyscraper in a sea of heat and smoke. Olivia watched as the flames rose higher and higher, crawling up the sides of the building, eating away at the structure like termites eating away at a wooden structure._

 _The building remained standing, a towering figure looming over the rest, and for a moment, Olivia dared to hope that her father still had a chance. Then, with a crash, the building crumbled, and Olivia was alone again. Ashes began to snow down in the distance. She believed that she had no one else in the world._

* * *

Why the Polar Express and TF2? Well, I like both of those things; the Polar Express was a movie my family watch a ton when Christmas Comes to Town (er, around I mean) and Team Fortress 2 is just a fun game for me. Plus, I did a Christmas thing with TF2 last year, so I thought I'd do it again.

Side note: I know Virgil is supposed to be with the rest of the Classic Mercs, but I thought they could have sent someone ahead to tell Grey Mann. At first, I was going to use the Classic Scout, but then I remembered that he's a fu- so I used Virgil instead. I mean, seeing as how the Classic Heavy is so overbearing and was shown to at least have connections to some of his men, he'd probably find out that the Classic Scout was a f- Just getting this out of the way so no one has to screech at me about this later.


	2. A Lonely Stroll

Olivia hissed with frustration, as her feet slipped on the slick, icy road. The light reflecting off the flawless surface only further increased her irritation, as she struggled to maintain her balance. The cold air bit into her flesh, and her breath turned to mist the moment she exhaled as she trod along the sidewalk, misery clearly shown on her face.

Her father had been dead for a few months now, his body, dug up from under a mountain of rubble, with the machine on his back torn out, leaving no doubt about his fate. The men her father had hired were also killed, one of them with the faintest tinge of australium staining his side. The other mercenaries, the ones she believed to have been responsible for her father's death, were nowhere to be found, to her disappointment.

She had gotten over her father's death rather quickly. Of course it hurt, just not as much as the first time she had lost her parents, and now that her father was gone, she felt as if there was a hollow in her heart left in its place.

Strolling through the streets as the lights glared down on her, Olivia looked up from her own miserable thoughts, and took note of how empty the pavement was on this fine cold winter evening. One look at the crimson color creeping into the sky told her that Christmas Eve was drawing to a close. Most people were tucked away in their homes, getting ready for dinner.

Peeking inside a house as she passed, she saw that this was indeed true. She caught sight of a family sitting around a table, a feast presented before them in the dim candlelight. Seeing everyone inside so happy, as they talked amongst each other saddened Olivia. It only served to remind her that, this Christmas, she would have no one to celebrate with.

Her breath left a cloud of mist on the clear glass pane, obscuring her view, and bringing her back to the painful reality of the present. Slowly she tore herself from behind the window, and turned back to the street. As soon as she spun around, she was surprised to see that a smaller child had suddenly appeared behind her.

Hastily sizing him up, Olivia guessed that the child was a few years younger than she was. She also assumed that the decorative coat she was wearing must have given her away as someone with wealth, so it came to no surprise when he asked her, "Merry Christmas, miss. Do you think you could spare some money on this fine Christmas Eve? I only need a bit more to buy myself a coat for tonight."

A frown quickly spread over Olivia's lips. Even in the best of times, she tended to be stingy with her money. Upon a second thought, however, she decided that it would be the fastest way to get the boy out of her way.

With a sigh, she reached into her pocket, only to find that her hand met nothing but open air. She looked down and saw that her hand had gone right through a hole in the bottom of the pocket, so she reached to the other side. This time, she managed to grasp a few paper bills, which she dropped into the boy's hands without a second thought.

The child muttered a quick thanks before scrambling away. As Olivia stood, watching, a voice inside her instantly piped up, claiming that she didn't just give him the money to make him to leave, but she pushed that thought out as soon as it entered her head, and continued down the road.

As she neared her home, something cold touched down on the back of her neck. Her eyes turned to the sky. A thick blanket of clouds had begun to creep in, bringing a soft snowfall. Olivia quickened her pace, sprinting down the street. She stopped before a lonely house at the corner of the road.

Glaring down at her through the windows, this house was the only remaining piece of her father's property that Olivia still laid claim to. Far from being completely ruined, the house was nevertheless in a lesser condition than she would have liked. Still, it was better than nothing. She pushed aside the door and dashed in before the light downfall of snow could get any worse.

As soon as she entered, Olivia headed straight to her bedroom. Passing through the empty halls and running up the stairs, she eventually found her way back to her soft bed and plopped onto it.

Staring out of the window, watching as the snowflakes drifted downward, Olivia's thoughts wandered back to the question of why had she given the boy her money.

She didn't really consider herself a generous person; she had taken note of beggars on the street before but had hardly given them a second glance. If she were a lesser person, she might have thought that the spirit of Christmas could have played a part in this weirdly out of character action. However, she thought the "Christmas spirit" was just a term invented by rich businessmen to give their holiday-themed products a name for ease of marketing, and as such liked to consider herself above such petty beliefs. There was no such thing as Santa Claus, so why else would such a sickly-sweet term exist?


	3. A Wondrous Dream?

Olivia awoke to find the ground shaking below her. She lifted her head, as a sharp whistle pierced the air. The shrill noise faded as quickly as it had come, replaced with the steady sound of machinery. Taking a peek outside the window, Olivia found her view obscured by a thick cloud of smoke. She could barely make out a faint light behind the veil.

Quickly getting to her feet, Olivia dashed over to the window to get a closer look as the smoke began to clear. In place of the smoke, she found a strange steam locomotive sitting in the middle of the road. A strange voice in her head claimed that the train was waiting for her, and for whatever reason, she decided to trust it.

Olivia snatched her jacket off her bed and dashed out the door. She scrambled down the flight of stairs, rushed through the halls, and when she opened the door leading to the outside world, she was immediately dwarfed under the looming figure of the train stationed before her house.

For a moment she just stood there, gawking at the strange locomotive that had appeared out of nowhere. She took a step forward, then another, until she was right up to the train. Her hand reached out, carefully brushing against the icy cold siding. Then a voice called to her.

"Hey, knucklehead. Over here."

Turning to the side, Olivia saw a figure in the distance standing out against the light. She blinked, but when she looked again, the figure was still standing there. The two remained frozen for an unnerving amount of time, even as the cold began to gnaw at her skin. Eventually, the figure seemed to grow tired of Olivia's hesitance and checked something in his hand, before turning back to face her again.

"Well? Ya just gonna stand there, or ya gonna get moving?"

Confused, Olivia walked up to the strange figure, whom she could now identify as male by his voice.

"I'm sorry, what?"

The strange man shook his head and sighed.

"Freakin... oh come on, this ain't rocket science pal. Ya comin' aboard or not?"

"Uh..."

Again, the man gave an annoyed sigh.

"Look, kid, tell ya what, ya guess this, I'll give you a... uh..."

The man paused, taking a minute to dig into his pockets. When his hands came up empty, his mouth twisted into a frustrated frown, and he turned his head back towards the train.

"Hey! Could ya give me a piece of candy or something?"

Olivia almost missed the small object that flashed into the air and landed in the man's hands, only to catch sight of it again when it appeared before her moments later.

"Ya like chocolate?"

The girl replied with even more questions.

"On the train, you mean? Where to?"

At this, the man began clapping, tossing Olivia the piece of candy.

"Oh, we got a real genius over here. Of course I meant the train, you moron."

His arms made a wide sweeping motion, his hands brushing past the bright golden letters engraved on the side of the train as he proudly proclaimed:

"As for where? Why, to the North Pole, of course! This is the Polar Express!"

Olivia blinked, completely dumbfounded. This had to be a dream.

"The North Pole? Why would anyone want to go there?"

The man gave her a sideways glare, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why? Well, to see the big guy on top."

Taking a moment to pull a short, thin piece of parchment out of his pocket, the man's eyes scrolled down the piece of paper in his hand. The moment he stopped, he slid his finger down it, using his other hand to steady it as it fluttered in the wind, before turning it towards Olivia.

"This is you, right?"

Olivia leaned in, peering at the words scrawled across the white surface, and found that the man's finger had stopped over her name. She nodded her head, and the man exhaled, a thin mist floating out from his lips.

"Well, then we're here for you. You've been invited to come to the North Pole, and if ya didn't know it's kinda rude to turn down an invitation."

Olivia was certain that this had to be some kind of crazy dream. She continued to stay rooted in place.

When it became evident that the girl was not going to move anytime soon, the man let out a disappointed sigh.

"You sure you're not interested?"

No response.

"Alright then. You kids don't know what you're missing out on."

And with that, the man leapt back onto the train. As his feet touched down onto the platform leading inside, he took another glance at the girl standing in the snow, as if to give her one last chance to change her mind. Her mouth remained tightly closed, so the man responded with a shrug before disappearing onto the train car.

A low whistle sounded off in the distance, followed by a steamy hissing. The wheels supporting the train car started to turn, pushing the train car forward, and as it began to pick up speed, Olivia took a moment to reconsider. If this really was a dream, then why should she stay at home? What harm would there be in taking the train to the North Pole?

Slowly, Olivia reached out a hand to touch the side of the train. Moving a bit faster now, it continued to drive onward. Her fingertips lightly brushed the metal handle protruding out from one of the cars, and it was then that she finally decided to go.

Seconds before the handle could escape her grasp, Olivia grabbed firmly ahold of the handle and leapt onto the train car. Once her feet were planted back onto the ground, she turned back around to take one last look at home.

As the frosty wind combed through her hair, Olivia's eyes drifted upward to her bedroom window. Her gaze was met with the same droopy eye-like windows that always saw her off whenever she stepped out, only this time she could have sworn she saw those saddened eyes looking back at her. By the time she realized it was just the light from the train reflecting off the glass, her house had already disappeared in the distance.

"Hey! Ya came!"

Olivia turned around to see the same man from before standing beside the door leading into the train car, a cocky grin on his face. Olivia nodded, and the man gave her a chuckle. He slid the door next to him open, bringing a gust of warm air out from inside the car.

"Well, why don't ya come on in? It's not gonna get any warmer out here."

Staring into the warm glow emitting from inside the train, Olivia paused. For a moment a fragment of doubt passed her mind. Then, like a shadow cast off the dim flame of a candle, the thought passed, and she stepped into the car.

The man flashed her another grin, patting her on the back, and Olivia couldn't help but feel as if she had seen him before. Then she faintly heard another, softer voice call out, and he closed the door with a click, sealing her off from the cold outside.

* * *

The part that makes this a TF2 fic is that all the characters have been replaced with TF2 characters. (Except for two, but that doesn't matter)

You get bonus points if you can guess who the conductor is.


	4. A Strange Introduction

At once, a soft warm glow washed over Olivia as the cold wind was cut off from behind her. The scene that greeted her was fairly peaceful, the loudest noise being the quiet chatter of children sitting in the seats at the front of the car. Walking through the crowded aisle, shuffling past the rows of children who had arrived before her, she searched for an empty spot to sit down in. She eventually found one across from a sleeping girl, her dark brown hair spread out on her seat like a mop. Taking one look at the girl's unmoving form, Olivia leaned back to sit down, when the girl across the aisle suddenly stirred.

"Don't sit there."

Olivia turned to the girl, watching as she slowly rose from her seat, and brushed aside a few strands of hair. With a tired groan, the girl stretched a hand out to the seat and pressed it down, causing a sickening squelch from something inside the seat. When she lifted her hand back up, Olivia saw a strange green slimy substance dripping from it.

Someone laughed behind Olivia. She turned her head around to see where it had come from, and was just in time to catch sight of a blur disappear behind the leather seat.

"These kinds of pranks can get really nasty, so you should probably watch where you sit."

Olivia turned back to the girl, who gave her a sleepy smile in return. Casually brushing the slime on her other sleeve, the girl opened her mouth to let out a yawn and arched back into her seat. Olivia's eyes wandered to the row of seats behind them before she turned back to the girl again.

"Are the rest of them also..."

"Trapped? I saw a bunch of kids go back there with buckets of whatever that was, so probably."

Olivia huffed in annoyance.

"You can sit with me if you want to."

Olivia glanced to the side, and the girl stretched against the seat with a groan. The girl slid over towards the window, and invited Olivia to sit down next to her.

"Thanks," Olivia said.

Olivia plopped herself down without a word. They sat in silence, listening to the rythmic clicking of wheels rolling down the track as the train hurried along, and to the quiet chatter of the children sitting in front of them.

Olivia released a sigh and slouched back in her seat. As the calm settled in, she took a moment to reflect on all that had happened so far; she was on a magical train, going away from her home, from the sentimental remains of her family, to meet up with Santa Claus out of all people. She turned to the other girl to ask her something, only to find her asleep.

This was going to be a long ride.


	5. A Final Stop

The train shrieked to a halt. At once, Olivia glanced over her companion, curious to see where they had stopped.

Peering through the clear glass window, Olivia was able to spot a small object in the middle of the snow, hiding in the dark. From far away it looked like a toy set, its roof frosted with thick layers of snow, and a winding path jutting out, leading right up to the train.

Following the path with her eyes, Olivia found the figures of the conductor and a boy standing at its end.

"I'm awake."

With a start, the sleeping girl stirred. Stretching herself against the seat, her mouth opening in a yawn, the girl slowly blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

"I'm awake, I'm awake, I'm awake."

Like a rubber band snapping back, the girl suddenly jolted forward.

"So, what'd I miss?"

"I dunno," Olivia mumbled. "Nothing much."

The girl followed Olivia's gaze, and saw the boy standing outside the train.

"Oh, another kid!"

"Yeah," Olivia replied.

"I think this is the last one. You think he'll get on?"

"What makes you think this is the last one?" Olivia asked, turning to the girl.

"There aren't any more seats back here."

"But there are other train cars, too."

"Yes, well, this is the last one, and if I were running this train, I'd have them fill up the seats in order." The rest of the girl's words faded into incoherent mumbles, as Olivia focused her attention on the boy down below. She watched as the conductor spoke with the boy, noting how animated his hands were as he talked. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying from inside, she could tell the boy didn't seem to trust the conductor. Eventually, the conductor gave up, and disappeared back into the train. Olivia couldn't help feeling a bit like the boy standing outside.

With a whistle and a hiss, they were off once again. The train picked up speed, and as they started to move forward, the boy outside just stood there, eyes following the train as it prepared to leave.

"Aw, he didn't get on."

Olivia nodded, not really paying attention, watching as they left the boy behind. Suddenly, her eyes met his, and she saw something change in him.

At once, he broke into a run, trying to catch up with the train. Olivia's gaze followed him as he desperately tried to grab on, only to fall short.

Noticing Olivia's intensifying focus, the girl glanced outside as well. When she caught sight of the boy trying to catch up with the train, she immediately straightened and got to her feet.

"He wants to get on! We have to help him."

"Wait, what?" Olivia asked unenthusiastically, turning to the girl, only to find her gone. Peeking out into the aisle, Olivia looked behind her and found the girl tugging on the door, struggling to open it.

At first, she debated whether she should help. She eventually decided against it. Then the door started to open. She quickly changed her mind, and decided that since the girl was probably going to get out anyway, it would be better if Olivia made sure she didn't get hurt.

Slipping out of the seat, Olivia dashed over to the girl just as she managed to pull the door open. The girl turned around, and when she saw Olivia behind her, she gave her a childish smile. She waited for Olivia to catch up, before stepping outside and into the freezing air.

Olivia followed her into the icy cold, quickly adjusting herself as she was blasted with a gust of wind. Looking back up again, Olivia watched as the other girl jumped between cars, and her eyes fell to the opening between them. She felt afraid for a moment, as her mind drifted to the possibility of failing to make that jump. She looked up to find the other girl watching her, and brushing her fear aside for a moment, Olivia leapt over the gap between train cars, stumbling to a halt as she landed back down in front of the second car. The two girls grabbed ahold of the train car's handle and pulled it open before they finally slipped inside.

The interior of the car was warm and cozy, not unlike the one they had just left behind moments ago. A soft glow poured down from the lights that were hung from the car's ceiling, leaving deep shadows in the floor below; the table at the middle of the room, or the soft cushioned chair in the corner of the room, or even the man that was sitting on the chair, casually flipping through the pages of a book.

Careful not to disturb the man, the two girls quietly slipped through the room, the sound of their footsteps masked by the thick carpeting.

"Ahem. A moment of your time, please."

The man put down his book, revealing the suit he wore underneath, and beckoned the girls with a gloved hand. The girls exchanged looks. Then the other girl dashed over to the door, leaving Olivia with the man.

"Take this. I promise you, you will need it later."

The man picked a wrench off the table beside him, twirling the wrench around in his hand with the flick of a wrist. Olivia slowly extended a hand, and the man carefully placed it in her waiting palm.

"Now you should probably get going, no? I believe your friends are in need of your help."

"Thanks," Olivia said with a nod, slightly confused. She ran off without a second thought.

The moment Olivia stepped outside, her face was peppered with snow. She blinked away the frost and found her companion leaning on the rails, holding out a hand to the boy from before as he sprinted to catch up with the train.

The train faltered for a moment, allowing the boy to get closer. It seemed as if the train was having trouble taking off, giving the boy more time to get on. The train wasn't going slow enough for the boy to catch up, however. He swiped at the girl's hand, coming up short by inches, before he finally began to lose ground.

Olivia hastily scanned around for anything useful, and attention was snagged by a loose bolt holding a rusty metal ladder in place. At first, she attempted to pull the nut loose with her bare hands, only to find it was out of reach. Looking back at the girl desperately trying to grab ahold of the running boy, Olivia turned back to the ladder.

With a grunt, she leapt into the air, taking another swipe at the bolt, but she came down without having changed anything. Frustrated, she searched around for something, anything that could extend her reach. Then she remembered the wrench she was holding in her hand.

She sprang into the air one last time, this time swiping at the bolt with her wrench. Metal struck metal with a loud clang, alerting the two other children.

Distracted, the boy tripped, and he fell further behind. The other girl lunged out to the edge of the ladder as it plummeted onto the deck with renewed vigor, managing to catch the higher rungs despite how surprisingly tall it was.

Now farther out, the girl held out her hand. This time, the boy was able to grab onto it.

The ladder jostled as the two children perched on top scurried around, and Olivia noticed that as the ladder moved the bolt began to pull out of its socket.

In an instant, she was upon the shaking nut in an attempt to keep it from prying loose. The longer she held it down, however, the harder it became.

Slowly, the ladder started to tear itself out from underneath her hands, and Olivia panicked. She scrambled to gain a better grip on the bolt, even grasping the side of the ladder, but nothing worked. Then, just as the ladder began to slip, Olivia felt something rough press down onto her skin. Ten gnarly fingers wrapped themselves around her softer childish hands, and steadied the ladder, holding it in place.

The weight on her hands lifted, and the ladder was lifted back onto the train with a rusty squeal. Quickly, Olivia glanced over her shoulder and snagged a glimpse of an old man standing over her, a reindeer skull perched atop his head. Then, snow blew past her face, and the winter wind swept him away.

"Thanks for pulling us back in."

The girl shot Olivia a grateful smile as she helped the boy up from their short fall.

"Did you see that?" Olivia asked, turning back to where she had seen the man.

"See what?"

"There was a man standing right there," Olivia said, pointing behind her.

"I didn't see anything."

"But there was someone behind me." Olivia frowned. She was sure she had seen someone there, but she had no way of proving it.

"Guys? Don't you think we should go somewhere a bit... warmer?"

The two girls turned to look at the boy, and Olivia noticed how cold the air was now that she had been standing in it for so long.

"I guess so," she replied, looking back to the door behind her. She peeked through the window to see if the conductor was still there, and found the other conductor had joined him. From what she could see, the two were arguing; their angry postures gave off the appearance of a strong disagreement.

"What do you see?"

"Give it a second," Olivia replied.

By the time she turned her attention back to the conductors, it seemed to have reached its conclusion. Clearly, the argument had not ended well, as she was able to catch sight of the more orderly conductor thrusting his book into the arms of the younger one, giving him a condescending glare before he stormed off. The other conductor took a moment to recover his balance, and he adjusted his grip on the book before he stormed outside as well.

"The coast is clear," Olivia whispered.

"Well, not a moment too soon. I was beginning to lose the feeling in my toes."

Scanning the empty cabin a final time, Olivia slid the door open, turned to her two companions, and motioned for them to go through. She watched as they disappeared behind the door when she felt a ghostly presence behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and stared into the deathly cold, endless abyss of the night, and thought of the man she had seen vanish into the winter wind. Then she followed the other two children back into the car.

* * *

Three more TF2 characters have been shoved in-I mean introduced. Brownie points if you can guess who they are, though if you can only get one, I don't blame you because the other two are pretty obscure.


	6. A Momentary Panic

The three slipped back into their train car without a sound. Their entry went unnoticed, and they were able to get back to their seat without attracting any attention. As they reached their seat, the girl suddenly dashed in front of the other two and flopped down on the seat face first, startling both Olivia and the boy.

"Clear."

"What was that for?" Olivia asked.

"Just checking."

The girl's voice was muffled by the soft cushions pressed against her face. She quickly sat herself back up and moved out of the way, as Olivia moved to sit beside her. It took them a moment to remember the boy with them.

"Oh! Do you want to sit with us?"

The boy shook his head.

"I can find my own seat."

"No, you can't," Olivia said. "Unless you want to sit in goop, you'd better sit with us."

"What do you mean?"

"Just trust me, you do not want to sit in any of the other seats," Olivia said. The boy shot her a wary loot, but sat down next to her anyway.

"Tickets!"

The conductor burst in from the front, waving a hole puncher. From the sound of his voice, Olivia guessed that it was the one who had escorted her on board. The children stirred, talking softly amongst themselves as the man moved forward to collect tickets. The atmosphere was fairly calm, with the exception of Olivia, who turned to her companions.

"Tickets? What tickets?" she asked, worried.

"I just got on here. I'm as clueless as you."

Olivia and the boy turned to the girl.

"You didn't know there were tickets? Well too bad for you."

The girl pulled out a golden ticket from her pocket, her face unchanging. The two other children exchanged worried glances, which the girl seemed to find funny.

"Just kidding. I had no idea this was in my pocket before."

Olivia and the boy breathed a sigh of relief. The boy reached into his pocket, and was able to find a golden ticket hidden beneath the folds of fabric. When Olivia put her hand in her pocket, however, her hand went right through. She took a peek down, and remembered the hole in her pocket.

"Guys? I think I might have lost my ticket outside," she said.

A few seconds of silence.

"Then we shall find it!"

The other girl sprang up from her seat, and began to search under the seats.

"Didn't you listen?" Olivia asked, irritated. "I said I lost it outside."

"I heard you, but let's assume the best and hope that it's somewhere here since we can't search out there."

Olivia grumbled, "It's hopeless."

"Don't be so negative!"

"Have you checked your other pocket?"

The two girls turned to the boy. "I guess I haven't," Olivia said. She reached a hand into her other pocket. This time she felt something crisp brush against her fingers, and she pulled out. Grasped tightly in her fingers was a golden slip of paper.

"Is something the matter, fellas?"

The conductor's shadow blocked out the dim lamps above. The children turned around to see him standing expectantly behind them.

"No, not at all," Olivia replied. The three children handed him their tickets, which he received with a smile. His hole puncher clicked three times, before he gave them back. Scanning over the rows of seats behind him, the conductor gave a satisfied grin, before slipping out the back.


	7. An Altercation Between Friends

Olivia looked out the window, watching the snow drift past. She scanned the field frosted white with a heavy layer of snow, following the thin line of sugar-coated trees bordering the plain. She paid no heed to the indistinct chatter behind her, tuning it out in favor of staying silent as she swept over the icy moon-touched landscape.

Slowly, a soft light edged into her line of sight. The light blossomed, and shadows crept in until Olivia found herself staring into the middle of a crowd of towing figures, stacked high, shiny and bright. What might have been a bustling corner of life when the sun shone brightly overhead was quieted under the frosty covers of the night sky. Rows upon rows of rust-colored chunks were laid out on the ground, sidelined by a deep black gash. The thin coating of tiny white bits that covered both was stained with blotches of light, freshly fallen, not yet seen by human eyes.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

A man came into view, draped in red and white. Standing behind a sheet of glass, surrounded by a scene taking on the appearance of a sugary candy commercial, he waved to the children, a jolly grin plastered on his face. Olivia heard the sound of feet clapping against the train car floor, and words filled the air, each about the chubby bearded man outside the window. Olivia's eyes, however, were drawn to a flash of gold embedded in his back, twisting and turning, clicking and clacking against itself.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"I want my ma to get me that for Christmas!"

"I wish my pa would give me that tomorrow!"

"I just hope my parents won't just get me a new pair of underpants again."

"Well it won't matter what I want for Christmas," Olivia muttered to herself, "because my parents are dead."

"Hey, what do you two want for Christmas?"

Olivia turned away from the window. The other girl looked back at her cheerily, a bright smile on her face. Olivia hesitated to tell her that she had no one to give her presents.

"I'd rather not get my hopes up."

Olivia glanced to the side. She had forgotten the boy had joined them.

"What do you mean?"

"My family is too poor to afford anything."

The girl frowned.

"What do you mean?"

For a moment, the girl looked even more confused than before. She shook her head, and her bright demeanor seemed to return to her in an instant.

"But what about Santa? Couldn't you just ask him for presents?"

As they argued, Olivia's attention drifted back out the window, their voices fading into noise. She watched as the city slipped away into the night, pushed aside to make way to a snowy forest. Towering trees, branches heavy with snow brushed past her vision, casting long shadows across the frosty earth. A flash of silver caught her eye, streaking across the snowbound forest, weaving through the trees like a threaded needle, a blur against the dimly lit snow. Another streak of grey slipped by, dancing through the forest, followed by several more. Olivia was sure that if she were outside in that forest, she would hear the sound of paws crunching against the snow.

"I haven't got anything on Christmas for years, so excuse me for being doubtful!"

"Well maybe you're not believing hard enough!"

"Well that sounds dumb! In fact, this whole thing is stupid, I'm going to get off."

And with that, the boy jumped out of the chair and stormed off.

"Hey, now wait a minute!"

The girl slid out of her seat and took off after him, leaving Olivia alone.

At first, Olivia just sat there, doing nothing. Best to let things run their course. After a few seconds of silence, she began to feel unsettled. What if they got themselves hurt while trying to jump across the train cars. She shifted in her seat, growing uncomfortable. They'll probably be fine. Besides, this is all just a dream, right? Why care about people who were probably just figments of her imagination?

But why did it feel so real, then? A small, nagging voice at the back of her mind told her that she should follow them, just to be sure that they stayed safe, but she pushed it aside.

"I see that your friends have taken off, petite fille."

Olivia glanced over her shoulder. The older conductor stood at the edge of her seat, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Why do you not follow them?"

Olivia shrugged.

"Is it because they are not your friends?"

"Yeah," Olivia muttered, so quietly she was unsure if the conductor would have heard.

"But you want to find them, no?"

At this, Olivia turned to face the conductor, surprised. He gave her a knowing smirk in response, before he extended an open hand. Olivia peered into his palm to find a small pin in his palm. Carefully, she plucked it out, examining it with a puzzled expression.

"You'll need that."

The conductor gave her another small smile, and then he was gone as if he had stepped into the shadows.

Olivia stared at the pin in her hands, confused as to how such a small item could help her do anything. She pushed aside her uncertainty and put it in her pocket. Her feet hit the train car floor with a thud. Something small fell to the floor beside her, and she looked down to see the same pin she had received from the conductor before, lying on the ground in front of her. She picked it up, and her eyes fell to her coat, remembering that one of her pockets had a hole torn through it. Olivia put the pin back in her pocket, this time making sure that there was no hole for it to fall through. Then, she tore down the train car, heading straight towards the exit to find her friends.


	8. A Face to the Demon

The wind howled above the noise of the train. Olivia paid no heed to the snow as it battered against her, threatening to push her over the edge. She leapt across the cables, only stopping for a moment to regain her balance before she slipped through the door into the next car.

The sudden shift in temperature slowed her down for a moment, basking in the heat for a few seconds. As tempting as it was to stay, however, Olivia had a task she needed to get done, so she pressed onward.

The rows of seats she passed through were not as busy as the ones before. Children quietly talked to themselves, observed the scenery as it passed by the windows, or tapped against the glass. It all went by in a blur, and soon enough Olivia found herself wrapped around in a blanket of chilly air once again.

Her feet left the ground, adrift in the frozen wind, only to slam back down again a few seconds later. She pushed open the train car door, and sprinted down the aisle, ignoring the looks she got as she tumbled through the train car. She blinked and found herself out in the snow again. Up into the air, she went, before the solid ground rushed up to meet her, and she ripped through the door leading into the next train car.

The faces of the children around her became blurry shapes in the wind. The words that emerged from their mouths filtered through her ears like water through a sieve. They were gone as soon as they had come, and Olivia found herself back where she had started.

Or maybe she was a few cars ahead? Olivia had lost track. Still, she pressed onward, through the wind and ice. Until she found she could no longer continue.

A locked door. Olivia pulled and pulled on the door, but all she got in response was a metallic jangle. Then her eyes fell to the ladder off to the side. She reached out a hand, grabbed on, and began to climb.

She climbed and climbed for what seemed like a very long time. Slowly the rungs disappeared under her, one by one, until she had almost reached the top. Her fingers wrapped around the final rung and the frigid metal bled cold through her skin. She moved to pull herself higher, when she lost her grip. Her fingers desperately scrambled to regain their purchase, only to slip away on cold ice.

Then a hand shot out, grabbed her arm, and hauled her onto the roof.

Olivia slid on the flat snow-covered room, and slowly got to her feet. What she found was a quaint campfire perched atop the metal roof, and what sat beside it was a ragged old man with a reindeer skull on his head; the same old man from before.

"In the mood for some hot chocolate?"

Olivia took a good long look at the man. "Who are you?" she asked.

The old man didn't say anything at first.

"Saint Nicholas."

"Saint Nick? As in Santa Claus?" Olivia asked.

The old man laughed, his voice coarse and rough like the sharp end of a scaly hide.

"Santa Claus? The fat bloke?"

"Isn't Saint Nicholas another name for Santa Claus?" Olivia asked again, shuffling her feet in discomfort.

Saint Nick let out another strangled chuckle.

"Gee, for someone who doesn't believe, you sure know a lot about Santa."

Olivia stumbled over her words. The old man just laughed at her slip-up.

"Hey, don't be so glum. Have a cup to drink."

With a sigh, Olivia sat down by the fire.

"There. Not so hard, is it?"

A cloud of mist escaped her lips as she sighed.

"So, I've been watching you, and you don't seem like the kind of person to take a leap of faith. Would you care to explain yourself?"

"I don't know," she said. "I guess I just want to see where this is all going."

Silence. Nothing but the sound of the howling wind brushed against her ears.

"I mean, I know this can't be real, and he can't be real," Olivia said. "I mean, why would a magic train go around picking kids up to see Santa? And why would anyone give away anything for free, like Santa does?" Olivia drooped down and sighed. "I just... I don't even know."

Saint Nick smiled; it was a rusted, crooked, slightly crazy smile.

"I understand you, lass. And you'd be right. He can't exist. There's no logic behind it, especially with all that magic reindeer crap. And you understand logic, don't you? You're a reasonable girl."

Olivia nodded absentmindedly. Far off, she could hear the sound of wolves howling in the crisp dark night somewhere past the thick flurry of snow.

"And as for why this train goes around? There isn't any. You believe this is just a dream; There's nothing to see at the end. The only reason why you're still here is that there's a small part of you that still wants to believe.

There is no reason to stay. If you let go of that small part that lags behind, you will lose nothing. Why are you wasting your time?"

"Yeah," Olivia mumbled, as her eyes fell to her feet, "But that's not why I stayed. That I still want to believe, that is."

Saint Nick tilted his head, his lips still stretched wide.

"Really? Then why have you stayed?"

"If this were a dream, then I would be disappointed if the people I've met here turn out to be figments of my imagination."

"So you're lonely, then? That's why you're-"

Saint Nick cut himself off with a laugh. It sounded like the crunch of dead leaves.

"Yeah," Olivia said. She slowly got to her feet, and her fingers closed in around each other. "It feels nice to have company again. Is that so bad?"

"I see how it is then."

With a huff, Saint Nick got to his feet, and he stood towering over Olivia as his tattered robe streaked in the wind. The reindeer skull on his head looked like a fine spear from below.

"So you think you can stand against the King of the North Pole?"

Olivia took a step back and fell back into the snow. Saint Nick gave her one last grin; menacing, his teeth shimmering in the low firelight like sleet.

"Well then, you might want to hold on to something."

Suddenly, the train jerked to a stop. Olivia found herself fighting a slippery battle against inertia as the snow was forced off, leaving only metal for her to grasp at. Something stuck out at her, and she grabbed it without hesitation. A few seconds passed before she no longer felt as if she were slipping off the train.

Olivia pulled herself upright, and now that she was no longer fighting to stay on board, she took a moment to examine what had stopped her. She found a metal handle protruding out from the roof, and directly below it, a hatch. Olivia attempted to pull it open but to no avail. This was locked just like the door before it.

Then she noticed the pin she had received from the conductor earlier lying in the snow in front of her.


	9. An Agreement Between Friends

You can use hairpins to pick locks by the way. Just wanted to point that out, in case someone gets confused. Also, two more people from TF2 were put in this chapter. I'll give you a gold star if you can spy them. (And no, neither of them are the Spy)

* * *

Olivia hit the floor with a low thud. As she got to her feet, she felt something brush against her hand. She looked up and found a wooden leg dangling in front of her face.

The room was filled with toys, battered and broken, scattered about in such a way that they looked sad as they were awaiting their end. Olivia brushed aside a few marionettes hanging from the ceiling as she made her way through the clutter of different toys. Something cracked under her feet, and her eyes fell to the floor. A worn down toy train sat at her feet, with its front split down beside her shoe.

"I told you she'd be here."

A dark-skinned man stepped into the room, followed closely with the conductor who had greeted Olivia outside the train. The conductor turned to Olivia and gave her a bright smile.

"Hey, pal, glad you could make it."

Olivia gave them a blank stare. The conductor's smile slowly faded from his face when she didn't reply.

"Okay, you can remain silent. You're still going to have to come with us, though."

The conductor pushed open the door behind him. Olivia stepped through the door, though not before taking a good look at the other man.

When she stepped through the door, she noticed that the cold air that greeted her was calm and quiet. Snowflakes gently drifted down onto the metal floor, contrasting to how they had swept by as the train was running.

Olivia looked ahead. Before her was the coal car; the car that came just behind the engine, and the one that provided the train its source of fuel. Olivia looked over her shoulder, just as the darker, one-eyed man stepped out into the door and brushed past her. As he stepped away, Olivia caught sight of the conductor tossing away the book to some far corner of the car. Then, he stepped outside and closed the door.

"Alright Pete, get us to the engine!"

"Aye."

The darker skinned man slowly climbed up the ladder, and onto the train car. Olivia was not far behind, and the sound of coal clicking against the soles of shoes resounded through the night. A hand touched Olivia's shoulder, and she stopped to see who it was.

"Hey. So, your friend... he really wants to get off."

Olivia glanced at the conductor before she nodded. "I know," she said.

"Yeah, well the thing is, we can't get him off, so since he's your friend, I was wondering if you could convince him to stay so he doesn't spend the rest of this trip feeling down."

Olivia glanced at her feet, before she said, "I think I can-"

"Thanks pal, I knew I could count on you."

"What's taking so long, you two? My mum walks faster than you!"

"Well there's no need to yell at us, cyclops!"

Olivia slowly stepped through the black stones reflecting the few strands of moonlight that slipped through the snow-ridden clouds. Each foot she placed was calculated, as she wanted to make sure that she didn't slip, and end up in the colorless sea clacking beneath her and smear coal dust all over her jacket.

The trek across the coal car didn't last long, and soon Olivia found her two feet back onto a more solid surface. When she took a look around, she found her friends sitting on opposite sides of the engine, as the fire inside flickered and crackled.

"Hey."

"Hey," she said back.

The conductor stepped out from behind Olivia.

"So, I'll go up front to help out. You kids better behave, alright?"

Then, before any of them had time to respond, he was gone. As the conductor stepped out of the small cabin, Pete cleared his throat.

"Well, I should probably get back to my post."

The three children followed him with their eyes as he slipped back over the coal car, leaving them alone.

"So, why did the train stop?" Olivia asked, shifting her feet. The girl jumped to answer.

"One of the engineers said that a bunch of wolves chased a herd of moose onto the tracks. They said it'd only take a minute for them to clear it up."

The boy nodded in agreement, and the uncomfortable silence settled back in the engine room.

"So..."

"I still want to get off."

The other girl sighed, and slumped back in her seat, only to slip out of her seat and tumble onto the floor. Quickly, she picked herself up, dusted her clothes, and sat back down as if nothing had happened.

Olivia took a look around at the dusty room, at the ashes strewn about, at the dull machinery that bore countless scratches, before her eyes went back to the boy.

"Well, aren't you curious to see what's at the end?" she asked.

"The end of what?"

"The end of this," Olivia replied, motioning around her to the train. "I mean, there can't be any harm in staying, right?"

"Yeah, well..."

"And if you get off now," she continued, "you won't ever know if Santa is really... well, real. It isn't smart to pass up an opportunity like this."

"I guess."

The boy slouched back, looking less resolved than he was before. Feeling slightly bad, Olivia glanced around the room again, and her hand instinctively went to her pocket. A solid bump brushed against her fingers, and curious to know what it was, she pulled it out. Olivia turned over her hand to examine the object wrapped tightly in her fingers, and a shiny gold wrapper stared back at her.

"Do you like chocolate?" she asked, turning to the boy.

"Yeah. Why?"

Olivia tossed the boy the piece in her hand. The gold wrapped became a glint of light as the dim glow of the fire close by reflected off it while it soared through the air, and the boy had no trouble plucking it out of the sky.

"If this whole thing turns out to be a disappointment," Olivia said, "then at least you'll have one gift for Christmas."

"Gee, thanks."

To her surprise, Olivia felt a warm feeling sway around her heart as the boy gave her a thankful smile.

"It's not really what you get that counts, but how you get it," Olivia told the boy. "And if you can be thankful for the gifts you get, regardless of what those gifts are, you'll find that you'll enjoy those gifts a lot more."

"Really?"

Olivia nodded, and a smile wormed its way onto the boy's lips.

"That's how Christmas spirit works, I guess," Olivia said. The boy nodded back at her and relaxed. Turning to the side, Olivia mumbled, "I can't believe I said that."

"Fellas? The track's cleared up now."

At once, all eyes turned to the engineer who had stepped into the room.

"What happened."

A second engineer poked his head in, shorter than the first.

"The conductors did something and the moose went away. Didn't really pay attention to see what they did though."

A third engineer, taller and thinner than the two engineers before him, stepped inside.

"Well, y'all better get back to your cars. We'll be climbing up a mountain in a few minutes, and it won't be safe for you kids to be out in the open air."


	10. A Momentary Victory

Olivia slowly made her way down the train, careful not to slip on any loose pieces of coal. Her two friends remained quiet as they waded through the coal, now that their argument had been solved.

They reached the end soon enough and stepped down from the coal car. One of the conductors stood by to make sure that each of the children was able to get off safely before they headed into the next car.

The toys scattered on the floor and hung from the ceiling seemed to turn towards the group as they slipped past the door. Brushing through the endless mess of puppets and wooden blocks a second time did nothing to reduce the eerie feeling of the room, and Olivia kept a watchful eye as they stepped over the ruined toys lying on the wooden floorboards.

Then something caught her eye.

She stopped to pick up a doll limp on the floor. She slowly took in every detail, every flake of paint and the bare wood exposed in the places where it peeled. When she lifted her eyes from the doll, she found that the rest of the group had vanished.

Olivia took a step towards the door. The floor sagged underneath her, and it creaked under the weight of her foot. She stepped forward again, and the ground seemed to give away more than the last time.

Then she felt something touch her shoulder, and she turned around.

A puppet stared back at her.

Olivia stared at it for a moment, sensing nothing unusual about this puppet, aside from the fact that it bore an eerie resemblance to the older conductor. At least, until it started talking.

"Had your fun yet?"

Olivia took a step back. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked.

"You're finished with your friends; you've solved their conflict for them. I'd understand if you wanted to stay to see to the end of their petty squabble, but now you've got nothing holding you back."

Olivia huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me!"

A puppet taking on the appearance of the other conductor swung down from the ceiling and into Olivia's face, and she jumped back in surprise.

"I've got you all figured out. You're not staying because you're lonely; you can't be if you don't even think these people are real. You're staying because you want this to be real, don't you? Even after all you said about 'it's just not logical for someone to give out of the goodness in their heart,' you still want to believe in the 'incorruptible' spirit of Christmas."

Olivia took another involuntary step back, and she asked, "How do you know about that?"

The second puppet seemed to pause, and it stopped to think for a moment. The other puppet, however, did not hesitate to pick up the moment its companion stopped.

"Lady, I get that you want to pretend you have friends, cause the real world sucks for you, but sooner or later you're going to have to get a grip on reality."

"Nothing stays forever. Nothing is resistant to the corrosive that is human imperfection."

Olivia turned her eyes to the other puppet, who had begun speaking again.

"When someone gives, they expect something in return. Never expect anything to be free."

"And if you give something to someone else, they're going to want more. If ya want to play nice, you're gonna have to pay the price."

And with that, the puppets shoved Olivia, and she was sent tumbling back into a ragged pile of toys. Sharp bits poked into her back, and she hastily scrambled back.

"You're wrong," she blurted. The two puppets froze and tilted their heads. Then, they spoke in unison.

"Are we?"

"Yeah," she replied. "While the stuff you've said is true most of the time, sometimes it doesn't go that way, and when that happens, everyone can get something good out of it."

"How could you claim to know such a thing?"

"Because I've done it," she said. "I might not have believed in the 'Christmas Spirit', but looking back I would be lying if I didn't say giving to other people didn't feel good for me."

The puppets seemed to break and they began screeching, clawing at their faces. They lunged forward, but Olivia kicked them aside, revealing the puppeteer behind it all; Saint Nick.

Old, withered hands reached for Olivia, but she leapt out of the way, and Saint Nick crumpled into a pile of toys. He rose again, and with a roar, he charged at the girl, his ragged and torn robe streaming out behind him. There was a flash, and Olivia found Pete standing before her, an eerie green glow gushing out from his single eye. A sword appeared in his hand, and he swung at Saint Nick, who raised a hand in defense. A boney gauntlet materialized in front of Saint Nick before the cold steel could bite into his flesh, and the sword bounced off with a harmless clang. Pete struck again, this time with the pommel, knocking the reindeer skull off Saint Nick's head. As the vile old man stumbled back from the blow, Olivia felt someone grab her shoulder and pull her away.

"What were you doing back there?"

"I just saw something familiar," Olivia replied.

The conductor slumped, relieved.

"Well, what matters is that you are no longer in danger. Now let's get back to your car, shall we?"

It was then that something jolted Olivia's memory, and she asked, "Hey, I never got around to asking this, but how come I have the feeling that I've seen you before?"

The conductor stopped, and he turned to face her. His hands flew up to straighten his tie, and he looked down on her with knowing eyes.

"Well, petite fille, that may be because we all appear as people you might have known before."


	11. A Final Word

Olivia returned to her train car in a matter of minutes. As she slipped inside, no one else seemed to notice. She walked past the other seats, the sound of her footsteps muffled by the carpet in the center of the aisle, but when she got back to her seat, she only found the boy sitting there; the girl had disappeared.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"Huh?"

The boy looked up, his eyes barely open.

"Oh. I don't know."

The boy's eyes drifted to the ceiling, as if he were attempting to recall something.

"I think I might have heard the door in the back close, so she probably left the car."

"Well she couldn't have gone far," Olivia said. "We have to find her."

Both of their eyes fell to the back door. At once, they sprang towards it and pulled it aside. They leapt over the gap between cars without a second thought, and entered the last car slowly.

When they entered, they were swallowed by the darkness. All that was left in the fireplace was a pile of smoldering ashes; the only light that graced the room was the soft moonlight piercing through the windows, passing by, before returning again. The two children looked around the room in search for any sign of life, but found it to be completely abandoned. Olivia glanced to the end of the car and found a silhouette standing behind the door.

Olivia turned her head over her shoulder and saw that the boy had noticed the silhouette as well. They crept to the door, and Olivia gave it a gentle knock. When the figure didn't move, she slowly pulled the door open and slipped outside.

"Is something wrong?" Olivia asked.

The girl gave no indication that she had heard Olivia. After a few seconds, Olivia laid a tentative hand on the girl's shoulder. Only then did the girl look over her shoulder.

"Who are you?"

Olivia withdrew her hand and frowned. "I'm a friend," she replied cautiously. The girl glanced at Olivia blankly, with a look in her eyes that seemed lost and confused.

"And who am I?"

A concerned look crossed Olivia's face. The girl blinked, and the disoriented look in her eyes vanished in an instant.

"What am I doing here?"

Olivia and the boy exchanged worried glances. The girl observed this and furrowed her brow.

"Okay, what happened?"

"You just forgot about who you were," Olivia said. The girl just smiled.

"Oh, that's nothing."

"If there's something wrong, you should tell us."

The boy put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder, but she just looked away.

"I've lived alone for the past year," Olivia said, "and trust me, trying to solve a problem by yourself is much harder than doing it with help."

A minute passed, and nothing was said. A sigh escaped the girl's lips before she finally spoke.

"Alright. I'll tell you."

Quietly, Olivia and the boy stepped back to give her space. The girl shuffled her feet in the uncomfortable silence that followed.

"The truth is that I can't seem to really get a grasp on it all. I feel like I'm walking through a snowstorm; I can't see my own feet, and I can't even be sure if I'm putting them on solid ground at all. Everything just feels so hazy and blurry. I know this train is supposed to take me to see Santa Claus to help me to believe, but at this rate, I'm not even sure I'll be able to trust my own two eyes, and that thought kind of scares me."

Olivia stepped next to the girl, who turned to look at her as Olivia set herself down beside her. "Well you can trust us, right?" she said. "You're going through something that I can't really understand, but since we're your friends we'll help you through this."

"Thanks. I think I needed to hear that."

Olivia patted the other girl on the back.

"Can we go back now? I'm freezing out here."

The two girls gave the boy a look, before the girl burst out laughing.

"Come to think of it, I don't know how I was able to stay out here for so long. But yeah, we should probably head back."

Olivia stayed back and watched as her... friends? stepped back into the car. Could she consider them friends? It wasn't like she had been to the underworld and back with them, but they had still been through a lot. She eventually decided that she would come to a final decision later, as her friends walked further away.

The walk through the caboose was brief; since there was no one to stop them and no reason to stay around, they passed through it quickly. As they jumped the gap between the cars, Olivia was suddenly brought back to the first time she had crossed cars, and how challenging it seemed then. Funny how one's perception could change in one night.

As they slipped back into their seat, a voice blared from above.

"Hey, boys and girls, we're gonna reach the north pole, so if you all could get back to your seats, that would be swell."

Olivia turned to look out the window. Out past a sea of ice, a single bright light pierced the tranquil night sky. As they got closer, more lights rose up from out of the ground, until there was a swarm of lights sitting under the stars. Their journey was almost over.


	12. A Strange Scene

Olivia watched the streets below as they streamed past the train, struck with awe and wonder. Her eyes swept the rusty brick floor, following the crowd of little men with gas masks wandering about the dimly lit streets. They passed by countless rows of red bricks stacked to the sky, strung with strange arrangements of flashing lights.

As the train drove deeper into the town, the swarm of small red-clad men began to thin out, until the brick path was empty. Only then did the train slow down, and Olivia could hear the distant sound of brakes screeching against the tracks as it finally came to a stop.

The conductor stepped out from the door in the back, head held high.

"Alright, children. It is time for you to leave the train."

Excited chatter filled the air as the children scattered throughout the car began to leave their seats, slowly filling out into the aisle. One by one, they exited the car, and got off, stepping into the crowd slowly taking shape beside the train.

Outside, the sound of muttered conversations expanded to fill the air. Olivia, staying close to the other two children, took time to observe her new surroundings. A series of brick arches stood over their heads, and the gaps between them opened up to the starry sky hanging over their heads. The walls reached beyond the train, and the vast corridor built around them was completely devoid of any other life. Well, save for a distant figure perched up on the balcony Olivia spotted in the corner of her eye. A flash of gold appeared in its hands, before disappearing again a moment later.

"Aye! Lads and lassies!"

Olivia took her eyes off the strange shadow for a moment, but when she looked again, the figure had vanished. Her gaze lingered for a bit longer, but she decided that it probably didn't mean anything. She turned to the front and found the dark-skinned man from before standing before the crowd.

"The boss is busy right now, so you'll have to wait a bit if you want to see him. My name is Pete, and I'm here to give you a little tour of the place while he gets ready, so if you could please be quiet, that'll be nice."

"When will we get to see Santa?"

One child in the sea of coats and bed robes spoke out, and Pete's eye scanned the crowd, irritation clear on his face.

"I thought I said to be quiet."

Pete waited a few seconds for silence to fully settle over the children. With a satisfied grunt, he turned around and started towards a cherry-red door behind him. When he realized that no one else had started moving, he looked back over his shoulder.

"Well? What are ye waiting for? I haven't got all day!"

A soft murmur steadily rose from the crowd, and they slowly began to shuffle after Pete. This time, he didn't take his eyes off the children as he stepped in front of the door and pulled it open. As she passed through the door, Olivia could feel Pete's gaze on her, and she made sure to be quick about getting in.

* * *

One more TF2 merc is in here, even though they're only mentioned in a single line. I don't have any stickers, but I have coupons, if you want some kind of reward for finding the "hidden mercenary"


	13. An Uncanny Dream?

Once she was in, Olivia took one look at the vast hallway inside, and immediately felt overwhelmed by how vast it was. The roof seemed to stretch beyond the sky itself, and the bricks stacked to the sides were colored with streaks of green and red. Wrapped around the wooden beams extending to both sides were Christmas lights painted vibrant splotches of color on the rust bricks, and streamers of holly leaves sprawled out beyond.

The other children around her seemed to share her thoughts. Their gasps of wonder echoed around the chamber as they ambled through the hall. They passed by doors adorned with spiraling green decor, grand in scale and mesmerizing to look at, all highlighted under the bright lamps that hung high above.

In the corner of her eye, a dark figure caught Olivia's attention again, this time standing beside an open door. The shadowy figure lingered for a moment, before it slipped behind the door. Curious, Olivia stealthily broke away from the group and headed after it. As she reached the door, she scanned it, noting that the door looked darker than the ones she had passed before. An eerie feeling settled on her, but she brushed it aside. Carefully now, Olivia pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

The lights inside the room were dim. Olivia could barely make out the outline of her hands in front of her face. She was only able to take one step forward, before she heard the door open behind her. She snapped around and found the boy and the girl from before standing behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"We saw you wander off, and we wanted to see where you were going."

The boy nodded in agreement with the girl's words.

"Well, I saw this suspicious looking guy somewhere around here," Olivia said. She took a moment to glance to the side, to see where the figure had run off to. She managed to catch it disappearing behind a corner, and without another word, she ran off.

They gave chase, dashing through the dimly lit hall as the lights overhead flickered on and off. Bright stains passed under their feet as they ran, and the shadowy figure seemed to melt into the shadows every time it stepped out from underneath the light, until it finally reached a worn door at the end, standing under a spotlight. The figure opened the door, and then it disappeared. When the children got to the same door, they came to a halt. The boy was the first to speak.

"I think we should go back."

"Are you kidding? We've come this far, so why should we go back?"

Olivia didn't say anything.

Quietly, they slipped through the door, one by one, only to be greeted with pitch black. Olivia took a step back and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. A minute passed, and it remained the same. Olivia felt something crawl up her spine. Something wasn't right. She looked to the side, searching for her friends, but no one was there.

Then, lights flickered on. Silver light splattered down from above, and from that light, she could make out the faint outlines of a small boy and girl.

She took a cautious step towards them. Olivia couldn't see anything wrong, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. When they didn't turn around to reveal themselves as horrifying monsters, Olivia advanced steadily, her eyes watchful for even the slightest unusual movement, until she was right behind them.

"Hello?" she asked, loudly and clearly.

Slowly, they turned around. Their faces looked perfectly human, up to their empty, soulless eyes. Olivia stared into those pits of darkness, and she felt the cold, wispy claws of fear wrap around her. The pair of... things posing as children began to walk towards her, their teeth showing, as if the skin was trying to peel back, and reveal the bare skulls beneath.

This seemed to snap Olivia out of her frozen state. She took a step back, only to trip and tumbled to the floor. The ground seemed to vanish beneath her, despite still being as black as before, and she found herself desperately clutching the air. Her hand brushed against something solid, and she snapped onto it. When she turned to see what it was, she was relieved to find that it wasn't some freaky skeletal hand.

It was snowing up. Olivia was hanging off the same locked hatch door from earlier before, only this time the floor was above her and the snowflakes were gently drifting toward the sky. Below her, a plane of glistening red eyes stretched out beyond her vision. Olivia looked up and found an old man, hunched over, sitting upside down on the edge.

Olivia opened her mouth to call out to him, but nothing came out of her mouth. Then, the man got up, and stepped off the ground, and disappeared behind the surface, leaving Olivia hanging on for life, alone in the cold winter wind.

A colorless sludge began streaming out of the opening above the hatch. Olivia could only watch as it sloshed around on an unseen bottom, slowly clawing its way to the sky. The oozing black liquid splashed at her toes, before it climbed to her legs. It rose higher still, swallowing her legs before it greedily engulfed her chest. Then, she was completely underwater, left to drift in a pool of darkness.

In the dark waters, nothing was all that there was. And voices. Voices with the tone of a whisper, that wrapped around her head, flowing through the thick sludge as gently as water through honey, muttering incomprehensible things. Olivia struggled to find somewhere, anywhere that wasn't here, some way to get out, but no exit showed itself.

And then, a light. A blinding flash that tore through the darkness like a beast into thick, slimy flesh. Daring to open her eyes for a moment, Olivia caught sight of an old man standing over her; it was her father, Gray Mann. His gaze was proud and mechanical, just like one of his robots, as it always was. The light flickered, and the figure of her father disappeared, only to be replaced with her parents, her birth parents, her real parents. As they looked down on her, their faces were soft and caring, just like she remembered them before they died. Then she blinked, and they were gone. She was all alone. At least, save for the figure looming before her, oozing with black sludge, a pale skull glistening in the moonlight lying on top of his shoulders with two long, jagged horns speared from the top.

 _"How curious. You've been so much, child, yet you refuse to believe."_

"Who are you?" Olivia blurted out. The figure's shoulders shook up and down, as if it were laughing.

 _"I am a lonely soul, just like you."_

The figure turned to Olivia and looked her dead set with its empty eyes.

 _"Your companions, they've done so much with you, yet you do not consider them your friends? Why is this so?"_

"It's almost over, isn't it? So why bother staying attached to something that will be gone very soon? How could this help me in the real world?"

 _"You'd be surprised. Dreams, no matter how absurd, all carry some deeper meaning."_

"Well, even if that were true, how could this dumb, pointless dream help me? I've done fine so far without any friends."

There was silence.

 _"Once, I was lord of this place. I wore the crown of Christmas night proudly, until that fateful night I took everything too far. I was stripped down to what I am today; a demon, left to haunt the unlit alleyways of Christmas, Ashamed, I hid from the world, drove all those close to me, and in that, I dug a hole too deep to be dug out of."_

"I don't think I understand."

Air whistled through the bony teeth exposed into the air.

 _"You've lost many people, young one. Christmas is about sharing good cheer with friends and family, but because you have lost your family you push it away. Having people in one's life can bring joy into the_ world, _because life without joy is a hollow and empty."_

Olivia dropped her gaze.

 _"You don't believe that anyone could care for you. But they can learn to care. All hope is not lost for you."_

Memories began to resurface in the wet, flawless floor below her feet, and Olivia recalled all that she had been through on this one night. Finally, she said, "I think I realize that now."

 _"Then do you understand?"_

"I don't think I do."

 _"It will all come to you in time, young one."_

And with that, the figure melted away and disappeared into the churning black waters below. His skull hit the floor without a sound. Olivia stared into its lifeless eyes before it too lost its form as the skull crumbled into dust, and fluttered into the dark void below.

A second passed, and Olivia just stood, alone in the darkness. Then, a crack of light slipped through. Slowly, the dark tides receded, and color returned to the world. Olivia found herself sitting at a vast dining table, with her friends at her side once again.


	14. A Lonely Moment

The table seemed to stretch over the horizon and was garnished with dishes heaped onto clear glass plates. Stripes of red pierced through the green canvas painted onto the table, like a needle sliding through fabric. Soft lights shone down from the roof, as wooden beams curved gracefully overhead. The glossy surface of the table glared with a harsh white glimmer, and the edge was decorated with elegant wisps of evergreen. Children sat beside the table in chairs softened with plush green cushions with elaborate twists and curls stitched into them, children of all different shapes and colors, filling the air with the vibrant sounds of life, and between it all, three of them sat in silence.

Olivia was the first to speak. "Does anyone know what just happened?" she asked.

The two other children shook their heads.

"I'm still a bit confused about the whole thing." The girl rubbed her eyes, as if waking up from a dream.

A loud bang sounded out behind them. They looked behind to see one of the conductors burst through the door. When the conductor caught sight of the three children, he straightened his tie.

"Ah. There you are." The conductor gave them a sly grin, only to be shoved aside by the other conductor.

"Do you kids know how long we've been searching for you?" The conductor stormed up to them, rolling up his sleeves as he stepped closer.

"Two minutes. That's how long we have looked for them." The first conductor gave the second one a condescending smile, and he glared back.

"That's not the point." He turned back to the children. "Where were you?"

"We got lost," Olivia replied.

"Well don't go wandering around again." The conductor gave the children a scolding look.

The towering doors at the front creaked, and Pete stepped through, letting in a flood of soft light.

"Alright, kids. It's time to head on over to the courtyard." Pete planted his sword on the ground before him, and his eye swept commandingly over the children. Slowly, the children rose out of their seats and shuffled out the door, and Olivia and her friends were swept up in the crowd.

Out in the open, the children found themselves in the middle of a vast courtyard. "Elves" choked the open plain, covering every inch of the bricks that lay underneath. The towers that lined the courtyard loomed high above the ground, crawling with vines studded with colorful lights that cast a soft glow onto the square below. Lamp posts were lightly dusted with a fine white powder, and the shiny metal ornaments hanging around the yard gleamed with a gentle variation of color.

Everyone seemed so quiet, standing still in the vast open space. Time seemed to have stilled at that moment; everything seemed to freeze around her. The calm atmosphere changed in a heartbeat. The sound of brass filled the air, and a glaring light shone down from a gigantic red door laced with gold as it finally began to open with a resounding creak. The "elves" below broke into a thunderous cheer, leaping up and down, hands flying everywhere just as a shadow dropped down onto the crowd.

"Look, it's Santa Claus!"

"Is it really him?"

Olivia craned her neck to lay her eyes on Santa Claus in person, but everyone seemed to be intent on blocking her off. She stretched, she peeked, but all she could catch was a flash of red in between the backs of the "elves" and children oblivious to her predicament.

Something struck her head. Olivia was caught off guard, and she tumbled to the ground. Her head resounded with a monotone ringing, and as she slowly pushed herself off the ground, a silver glint caught her eye.

A bell. That was what had hit her. She looked around, searching for where it could have come from. To her annoyance, the ringing in her head didn't subside. When she shook her head to rid herself of the ringing, she realized that it was not coming from inside her head, but from a series of bells. From underneath the crowd, she could make out a forest thin spindly legs, and draped from a thick cord weaving between them were bells; bells, shining brightly in the dim light, giving off a dull, monotonous chime.

Olivia's eyes fell to the bell between her fingers. She shook it, expecting to hear the same hollow ring, but no sound pierced the air, past the throbbing of her head. Again, she shook it, but it remained silent.

 _Why can't I hear it?_

Olivia shook it harder, faster, and still, no sound came from the bell.

 _Why won't it ring? Is it broken?_

She shook it one more time. Nothing changed; the copper-like tang lingered in the air.

 _Why can't it ring?_

Slowly, her hand slowed down, and a new thought entered her head.

 _Why can't I believe?_

Her mind swirled with thoughts, only to settle on one final impression; Nothing was holding her back except for herself.

And so, she put down that one final barrier, and two words escaped her lips: "I believe."

She rang the bell one last time, and a soothing melodic tone filled her ears.

Everything fell silent. The entire world seemed to hold its breath, and looking into the flawless surface of the bell, a familiar face appeared before her. She turned around, to find herself face-to-face with Santa Claus himself.

* * *

And here's the last character introductions. If you can guess who it is, I don't have anything to give to you except my love. (No? Ok then, how about three rubber ducks then?)


	15. A Faded Exchange

"What was that?"

Olivia stepped back, a little awestruck. An eternity seemed to pass before she could stutter out, "I-I believe... this is yours?"

For a moment, Santa Claus didn't say a word. Then, he knelt down to face her.

"Little girl, you have been through so much beda, (Russian for trouble) " Santa Claus rumbled. "I believe you deserve to return home with something more than just memories."

Then, with a wink, a smile, and a swirl of snow, he disappeared. Olivia remained there, confused. It only took her a moment to realized that Santa Claus had only moved a few feet away, and was talking to one of the conductors.

"Hey," someone called out from behind her.

Olivia turned around to find countless pairs of eyes staring at her. She stepped back before she was hit with a barrage of questions.

"Why'd Santa give you a present first?"

"What makes you so special?"

All the words melted into a mindless jumble, but there was one question that rung out louder than the rest.

"What does it sound like?"

Carefully, Olivia shook the bell. The angelic tone drifted through the air, like snowflakes on a frosty wind, swirling down onto a sea of impassive faces.

"Is that all?" One child remarked.

"It sounds dull." Another called out.

"Are you sure it isn't broken?" A third commented.

Then, a loud voice cut through the air, a sharp knife piercing through the frozen night.

"Hey, kids! We're leaving!" The conductor stood over the children, his suit clutching tightly to him in the midnight breeze. The children mumbled quietly to themselves as the crowd dispersed, leaving Olivia alone again.

As the wind sifted through her hair, Olivia took one last look at the bustling scene before her. She slipped the silver bell woven between her fingers into the pocket sewn onto her coat, before she finally climbed the stairs leading into the train.

She settled back into her seats as other children buzzed around her. The warm light pouring down from the lamps hanging from the ceiling gave the seats a cozy glow when she returned, and when she had slid comfortably onto the seat, she hardly noticed the leather shift beneath her as her two friends sat down beside her.

A multicolored burst of light wafted in through the window, and the children turned to gaze out upon the courtyard once more. The sight their eyes were met to a bright flash of light, as they watched a majestic, crimson sleigh slowly rise off the ground. The air around shimmered with magic, and the elves roze in an uproarious shout. There was crack as loud as a clap of thunder. A slithering strand of rainbow sailed through the chilly night sky, and in a blazing spear of light, it streaked away, leaving a shower of vibrant and colorful sparks in its wake.

The floor rumbled beneath, and a shrieking whistle resounded through the halls. The train gave a massive shudder, before it finally started off. As brick structures began to move past the window, Olivia felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, could I see that bell one more time?" The girl looked at Olivia, the question hanging in the air.

"Sure," Olivia replied. She reached a hand into her pocket, but all she grasped was air; she had forgotten about the hole at the bottom of her pocket.

She searched her other pocket, but the bell wasn't there either. Her eyes went back to the windows, but all she could do was watch as the North Pole slipped away.

The girl next to her noticed her sadness and tried to cheer her up. "Hey, it was just a bell."

"Yeah. Just a bell," Olivia mumbled sadly as the train drove over the tracks, toward the starry sky.

* * *

"Beda" is Russian for "trouble". I don't speak Russian, I got this off Google Translate, so don't start throwing rocks if I got it wrong.


	16. Farewell

Hours went by. The trip seemed to stretch on for longer. Olivia looked at the sky. The moon was shining brightly from its place at the highest point in the sky. Now that she thought about it, hadn't the moon there at the beginning of the trip?

Jack was the first to leave. As the train came to a stop by his broken-down home, he looked back at his friends one last time.

"Well," he said, "it's not much, but it's home."

And with that, he got up, and stepped out the door. The train shook and shuddered, and as the tiny house in the distance slid away, Olivia's eyes followed the boy as he disappeared in the dulled white plain.

The girl was the next to go. The moonlight glossed over the uneven waves spread across the vast ocean. When the train finally came to a stop, at first, Olivia was confused. All she could see around her was an endless stretch of water. She turned to ask the girl next to her, but found the seat empty. The train started up again, and just like that, Olivia was by herself again.

When the train finally stopped by her house, Olivia found herself a bit relieved to finally be home. All the other children had gotten off before her, so she was undisturbed as she walked down the aisle. When she reached the door, she turned back to take one last look at the rows of empty leather seats, quietly taking in how they glistened in the soft light.

"Well? Ya just gonna stand there, or ya gonna get moving?" The conductor stood behind her.

Olvia turned to face him, and he flashed her a grin.

"Was it anything like you'd expected?"

"In some ways, no. In other ways, yes," she said.

The conductor winked. "It's been fun, kid."

"It sure has," she replied.

Olivia stepped down the steps, and back into the frost-coated front yard of her house, just as dark and gloomy as before. She stepped up to the door, swinging it open, before she looked back at the train, one last time. It had already started moving again, but the conductor was still standing out in the open, and as he passed by her house, he shouted something.

The roar of the train drowned out his words, and all she heard was a mumble, so she yelled back, "What?"

"Merry Christmas!"

The wheels kicked up a storm of ice off the ground, causing a cloud to swirl around the snowy road. The train disappeared in a think screen of frost, and when it finally dissolved, the train was gone. Olivia slipped through the door with a warm smile on her face.

As Olivia climbed up the stairs, she began to lament how lonely the house felt. Without another soul to add life to the creaking floorboards, the atmosphere felt unnaturally calm. She felt that she would have to change that.

With a tired groan, she plopped back down onto her bed, and as she began to drift off again, she decided that tomorrow, she would go out, and make a friend.

* * *

And now it's done. It's finally over. It took me several months to write, but I finally got it done.


End file.
